Morocco is on the cusp of a legislative breakthrough that will pave the way for a fully fledged Islamic finance system in the country. But with a history of failed Islamic banking experiments, on top of the usual problems associated with establishing a new market in a country, Morocco's Islamic banking sector is unlikely to take an instant hold.
South Africa's lenders, for so long the shining light in Africa's representation in The Banker's Top 1000 rankings, retain the top spots in the regional list but mostly with falls in their Tier 1 capital. The good news, however, comes from the direction of Morocco's financial institutions.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's managing director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, Hildegard Gacek, explains how expertise and past experience are now enabling the EBRD to assist Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia through a period of great economic and political change.
Arab banks offset the turmoil of the Arab Spring and offered a robust performance in 2011 with impressive growth across the key financial indicators. And with minimal exposure to the eurozone crisis, the region's banks are expected to continue their recovery from the global financial crisis.
North African capital markets were hit hard in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings that cut through the region in 2011. Economic activity was left disjointed and north African bourses experienced sharp declines in trading. The Banker looks at whether the increased liberalisation of these countries' economies can encourage foreign investment and benefit their respective exchanges.